Menstruation

A Complete List of TPE Menstrual Cups

Rose Desrosiers

Published: 3 years ago

Updated: 1 year ago

Reading Time: 8 min

Menstrual cups made from TPE are a great alternative to silicone and natural rubber cups. Compared to silicone and natural rubber, TPE cups are recyclable and less likely to cause allergies.

Blue, green, gray, red, and blue TPE pellets/granules for production of menstrual cups coming out of transparent tubes

Menstrual cups are made from three different materials.

Silicone, TPE, and natural rubber (latex).

Most cups are made of silicone.

Then comes TPE.

And lastly natural rubber.

In this post, we'll cover cups made from TPE.

What Is TPE?

White TPE pellets/granules in a transparent bag for production of menstrual cups

TPE is an acronym for Thermoplastic Elastomer.

TPE is a synthetic rubbery like material used in for example toys, sports equipment, packaging, and hygiene articles such as toothbrushes and razors.

For medical applications, a special type of TPE is used.

These specially developed compounds meet the strict requirements of the pharmaceutical and medical sectors.

What this means is that these TPE materials can be used in direct contact with body fluids and blood.

The Type of TPE Used in TPE Cups

The TPE used in menstrual cups is not the same type of TPE that is used in, for example, a toy, or a yoga mat.

The type of TPE used in menstrual cups is of medical-grade — It represents the greatest possible product purity, is free of latex and PVC, falls below the usual market limits for heavy metals and phthalates, and complies with medical standards.

One such standard is the ISO 10993-10 Biological evaluation of medical devices — Part 10: Tests for skin sensitization.

This part of ISO 10993 assesses possible contact hazards from chemicals released from medical devices, which may produce skin and mucosal irritation, eye irritation, or skin sensitization.

What Is ISO?

ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization with a membership of 164 national standards bodies.

One of its main tasks is to develop consensus-based international standards (specifications to ensure quality, safety, and efficiency for products, services, and systems) that support innovation and provide solutions to global challenges.

TPE, being a thermoplastic elastomer, can have slightly different properties than cups made from other materials.

The one that I've seen being talked about the most, and which is perhaps the most relevant, is its ability to conform to your shape under the influence of body heat.

Since your vagina is not round, over time, cups made from TPEs tend to form an oval after adjusting to your shape.

This is nothing to worry about.

The cup will again conform to your shape the next time you wear it.

If you ever would like to return the cup to its original completely round shape, simply boil the cup in hot water.

When it comes to the environment and waste management, the production of TPE has a low energy consumption, and all materials produced are fully recyclable.

How Are TPE Cups Manufactured?

TPE cups are manufactured using pure medical-grade TPE granules and special molding machines.

The granules, or pellets, are placed in the molding machine, melted, and then injected under high pressure into the cup molds.

The finished cups are then cooled, removed, and checked for errors.

Menstrual Cups Made From TPE Pros

Less likely to cause allergies compared to latex- or silicone-based cups.
TPE cups are less likely to harbor harmful bacteria than menstrual cups made from silicone.
Available in multiple firmness levels.
100% recyclable. TPE cups can be melted back down by the use of heat and processed into other things.
Low energy consumption during production.
Wide variety of coloring possibilities as well as effects.

Menstrual Cups Made From TPE Cons

Less heat resistant than silicone (melts around 400 degrees Fahrenheit / 204 degrees Celcius)

TPE Menstrual Cup Brands

These are all the TPE menstrual cup brands that we managed to find.

After this section, you'll also find a comparison table with all the TPE cups.

Me Luna

Purple, blue, and clear Me Luna USA menstrual cups

Menstrual Cup	Diameter	Body Length	Stem Length	Total Length	Capacity	Country Brand	Country Manufacturer
Me Luna S	38 mm	45 mm	12 mm	57 mm	23 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna M	41 mm	48 mm	13 mm	61 mm	28 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna L	44 mm	51 mm	15 mm	66 mm	34 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna XL	47 mm	56 mm	15 mm	71 mm	42 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna Shorty S	38 mm	35 mm	12 mm	47 mm	15 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna Shorty M	41 mm	38 mm	13 mm	51 mm	18 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna Shorty L	44 mm	41 mm	14 mm	55 mm	22 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna Shorty XL	47 mm	44 mm	15 mm	59 mm	27 ml	Germany	Germany

The Me Luna menstrual cup is manufactured in Germany and it's been around since 2009.

The material is manufactured by a German company called Kraiburg TPE GmbH & Co. KG.

They are the world's largest manufacturer of TPEs.

There are two versions of the Me Luna menstrual cup.

A US version, and a "rest-of-the-world" version.

In Europe menstrual cups are considered a hygiene article and therefore do not have to meet medical device standards.

In the US, however, menstrual cups are considered a medical device.

Thus, Me Luna cups sold in the US have to meet FDA standards which include being made from all medical grade materials.

For Me Luna's FDA clearance their cups have been tested to ensure no leaching or other adverse effects occur before they are made available to the public.

The Me Luna USA version of the cup was put through the FDA clearance process and registered with the FDA in 2014.

Here's also a link to the manufacturer's registration and the US distributor registration.

Medical-grade materials and testing are expensive.

This is also why the US version is more expensive.

The US cups are also not available in the same colors as are offered in the rest of the world.

The Me Luna USA cups are available in clear, amethyst purple, and sapphire blue (check the image above).

More colors are coming according to Me Luna USA.

The US version colorants are medical-grade colorants made by a company called Clariant.

Only the US version of Me Luna's cups is considered "generally safe for use" by the FDA.

Another difference is that the US version comes with the following:

A cleaning brush (the overseas versions do not).
Each 2-cup combo comes with 2 cups packaged separately with 2 bags, 2 cleaning brushes, and 2 brochures (the overseas 2-cup combos come with 2 cups, 1 bag, 1 brochure, and 0 brushes).

One cool thing about Me Luna, apart from it being FDA cleared, is that you can design your own cup on their website.

You can choose firmness, standard or shorty, handle style, and size.

Me Luna is offered in four sizes:

Small, Medium, Large, and Extra Large.

You can choose between three firmness levels:

Soft, Classic, and Sport.

Soft being the softest, Classic is medium soft, and Sport is the firmest.

And you can choose between three handle styles:

Stem, ring, and ball.

How cool is that?

Hello Cup

Hello Cup sizes

Menstrual Cup	Diameter	Body Length	Stem Length	Total Length	Capacity	Country Brand	Country Manufacturer
Hello Cup XS	38 mm	47 mm	10 mm	57 mm	17.5 ml (to air holes)	New Zealand	New Zealand
Hello Cup S/M	41 mm	49 mm	10 mm	59 mm	21 ml (to air holes)	New Zealand	New Zealand
Hello Cup L	45 mm	54 mm	10 mm	64 mm	28 ml (to air holes)	New Zealand	New Zealand

The Hello Cup is made in New Zealand.

It features a rounded stem, grip rings, air holes, is available in lots of beautiful colors, and is marketed as reusable for a minimum of 5 years.

The Hello Cup is FDA registered and the colorants used in these cups are food-grade (not to be confused with medical-grade) and comply with EU and FDA standards.

One cool thing that I like about Hello Cup is that for every sale on thehellocup.com they plant a tree.

The Hello Cup comes in three sizes:

XS (extra small), S/M (small/medium) and L (large).

Private Label TPE Menstrual Cup Brands

Private label cups are cups manufactured by one company for sale under another company's brand.

One such company, offering private label products, is Cohitech.

Cohitech / Cotton High Tech S.L.: Manufacturer of Feminine Hygiene Products

Cohitech is a Spanish, Barcelona-based, manufacturer of feminine hygiene products.

Their product range consists of sanitary pads, pantyliners, tampons, menstrual cups, and other related products.

The following menstrual cup brands all originate from Cohitech:

Genial Day
Oi
TOTM
Kind Organic
Masmi
SilverCare
Farmaconfort

Cup Properties and Dimensions

The cups manufactured by Cohitech have the following properties and dimensions:

Stem Type: Stem (Solid, Hollow, Round)
Firmness: 2/5
Air Holes: Yes
Measuring Marks: Yes

Menstrual Cup	Diameter	Body Length	Stem Length	Total Length	Capacity	Country Brand	Country Manufacturer
Cohitech S	40 mm	50 mm	12 mm	62 mm	17 ml	Spain	Spain
Cohitech M	43 mm	55 mm	12 mm	67 mm	25 ml	Spain	Spain
Cohitech L	46 mm	54 mm	12 mm	66 mm	30 ml	Spain	Spain

Genial Day

Genial Day menstrual cup sizes

Genial Day has been around since 2016.

It's a brand designed exclusively for the US.

Some of its products are pads, liners, and menstrual cups.

Genial Day is Vegetarian Society approved, Leaping Bunny approved, and FDA registered.

Links to Genial Day on Leaping Bunny:

https://www.leapingbunny.org/guide/brands/list

https://www.leapingbunny.org/sites/default/files/LeapingBunnyCertifiedCompanies-04092018.pdf

https://www.leapingbunny.org/content/genial-day

Oi

Oi Cup menstrual cup sizes

Oi stands for Organic Initiative.

The company, with its roots in New Zealand, has been around since 2015 and focuses on feminine hygiene.

Their product catalog consists of organic cotton tampons, pads, liners, and the Oi Cup.

In 2018 Oi entered the US market and can nowadays be found in numerous large and smaller retailers including Walmart.

TOTM

TOTM menstrual cups sizes

TOTM is a menstrual care brand offering organic pads, liners, applicator tampons (biodegradable cardboard applicator), non-applicator tampons, and menstrual cups.

The product range, which is manufactured in the EU, is registered with The Vegan Society and has gained the Ethical Shopper Accreditation.

The company has been around since 2016 and its products can be found on major retailers including Tesco, Superdrug, Ocado, and Urban Outfitters.

Kind Organic

Kind Organic menstrual cups

Kind Organic offers tampons, non-applicator tampons, liners, night pads, day pads, and menstrual cups.

The tampons, liners, and pads are made of organic cotton and the applicator is biodegradable.

Kind menstrual cups come with an organic cotton bag.

Masmi, SilverCare, Farmaconfort

Masmi menstrual cups

SilverCare menstrual cup

Farmaconfort menstrual cup

Cohitech has three of its own labels: Masmi, SilverCare, and Farmaconfort.

TPE Menstrual Cups Comparison Chart

Menstrual Cup	Diameter	Body Length	Stem Length	Total Length	Capacity	Country Brand	Country Manufacturer
Cohitech S	40 mm	50 mm	12 mm	62 mm	17 ml	Spain	Spain
Cohitech M	43 mm	55 mm	12 mm	67 mm	25 ml	Spain	Spain
Cohitech L	46 mm	54 mm	12 mm	66 mm	30 ml	Spain	Spain
Hello Cup XS	38 mm	47 mm	10 mm	57 mm	17.5 ml (to air holes)	New Zealand	New Zealand
Hello Cup S/M	41 mm	49 mm	10 mm	59 mm	21 ml (to air holes)	New Zealand	New Zealand
Hello Cup L	45 mm	54 mm	10 mm	64 mm	28 ml (to air holes)	New Zealand	New Zealand
Me Luna S	38 mm	45 mm	12 mm	57 mm	23 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna M	41 mm	48 mm	13 mm	61 mm	28 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna L	44 mm	51 mm	15 mm	66 mm	34 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna XL	47 mm	56 mm	15 mm	71 mm	42 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna Shorty S	38 mm	35 mm	12 mm	47 mm	15 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna Shorty M	41 mm	38 mm	13 mm	51 mm	18 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna Shorty L	44 mm	41 mm	14 mm	55 mm	22 ml	Germany	Germany
Me Luna Shorty XL	47 mm	44 mm	15 mm	59 mm	27 ml	Germany	Germany

How to Find Your Perfect TPE Cup

There are over 200 menstrual cup brands in the world.

And searching and comparing menstrual cups manually can be time-consuming.

That’s why we developed CUP-FIGURATOR™ Menstrual Cup Finder.

CUP-FIGURATOR™ not only speeds up the process of finding a menstrual cup but it also provides you with some handy comparison tools that will save you even more time and effort.

And hopefully, some money too by not having to buy multiple incompatible cups before finding the right one.

So, give it a try — go find your perfect TPE cup!